The Poppy

The remembrance poppy (a Papaver rhoeas) has been used since 1920 to commemorate soldiers who have died in war. Inspired by the World War I poem "In Flanders Fields", they were first used by the American Legion to commemorate American soldiers who died in that war (1914–1918). They were then adopted by military veterans' groups in the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

In Australia, the poppy is widely sold and worn on Remembrance Day. It is mainly sold on the Friday before 11 November, widely known as Poppy Day organised by Australian Legacy for war widows and orphans. At Remembrance Day ceremonies the poppy is worn by the Governor General, State Governors, politicians, military and members of the public. The poppy is not traditionally worn on Anzac Day, although the practice is becoming more common, particularly at overseas commemorations such as in London. Rather than wearing a poppy, the traditional symbol of remembrance on Anzac Day is a sprig of rosemary, which symbolises the wild rosemary the first troops ashore at Gallipoli had to use to pull themselves up the steep cliffs they were landed beneath.

During the First World War, red poppies were among the first living plants that sprouted from the devastation of the battlefields of northern France and Belgium. Soldiers told the story that the poppies were vivid red because they had been nurtured in ground drenched with the blood of the soldiers’ comrades. The sight of the poppies on the battlefield at Ypres in 1915 moved Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, a Canadian, to write the poem “In Flanders Fields”. Flanders poppies also featured prominently in several other literary responses to the destruction on the Western Front. During the First World War, the poppy took on powerful symbolism – that of sacrifice. The poppy soon became widely accepted throughout the allied nations as the flower of remembrance. It has been a part of commemoration ritual since the early 1920s and continues to be used for this purpose today. An American, Moina Michael, read McCrae’s poem and was so moved by it that she wrote a reply poem "We Shall Keep the Faith" and decided to wear a red poppy as a way of keeping faith, as McCrae had urged in his poem.

Rosemary and ANZAC Day

Since ancient times this aromatic herb has been believed to have properties to improve memory. Perhaps because of this, rosemary became an emblem of both fidelity and remembrance in literature and folklore and is an emblem for occasions such as funerals and weddings. Shakespeare makes reference to rosemary in the play of Hamlet (Act IV Scene 5) where Ophelia, decked with flowers, says to Laertes: “There’s rosemary, that’s for remembrance”.Rosemary has particular significance for Australians, as it is found growing wild on the Gallipoli Peninsula. Traditionally, sprigs of rosemary are worn on Anzac and sometimes on Remembrance Days, and are usually handed out by Legacy and the RSL. It is thought the tradition began at Gallipoli as they used the rosemary to decorate the graves of fallen soldiers as there was no other green foliage available

Ode of Remembrance

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow oldAge shall not weary them, nor the years condemnAt the going down of the sun and in the morningWe will remember them